LG G7 ThinQ First Look and Tour!

Alright, enough with the announcements and specs, let’s show you the LG G7 ThinQ. We had the opportunity to play with the phone some, film it a touch, and put together some highlights before we dive in deep for a review.

During our brief time with the G7 ThinQ (that’s pronounced Thin-pause-Q, not think), I’d have to say that I came away pretty impressed. This phone is a clear evolution of LG’s improving design skills from a language that started with the G6 and moved through to the V30. In fact, this phone looks very much like a V30, only with an added layer of polish. And that’s a good thing, as the V30 was one of the sexier devices of 2017.

With this phone, you have all of the proper specs (full list here), a trendy notch within a big 6.1-inch display, dual cameras that should be solid, a Google Assistant button, the removal of that stupid power button on the back (yeah, I said it), and an audiophile’s dream setup with a Quad DAC, Boombox speaker, and DTS-X audio. The G7 ThinQ really isn’t missing a thing, outside of a revamped software experience.

I thought the phone felt really nice in hand. Sure, it has glass everywhere which is a problem for me, but I’m not going to deny the slickness of its form factor. It might be a bit tall with that 19.5:9 aspect ratio, though I don’t think most will mind.

As for the notch, yes it’s there. LG is officially calling this a “new second screen,” as if it relates to the V line’s old secondary display. But this one can be turned off with a black background, or you can tweak the colors of it some too, to add some flavor. Outside of that, it doesn’t do anything special, it just meets the trend of the moment, which is a race to make the first full-screen phone.

Will this phone help fix LG’s mobile problems? That’s really tough to say. What I can tell you is that during a briefing with LG representatives, they seemed much more grounded in their pitch on this phone. What I mean is that they matter-of-factly explained this phone to us, rather than through a showy, over-the-top sales song and dance. They didn’t even do a massive, live-streamed press event for the public to watch. I don’t know if that’s a sign that LG will tone down the marketing for the G7 ThinQ as they prepare for something else or if they just want to be realistic after years of struggles in a smartphone world that isn’t getting better for anyone.